academic writing笔记

1. 词汇

1.1. general vs specific

  • 加了限定范围or用了关系性从句一般就要加the
    • 反过来你加了the，就要想办法specific
  • Uncountable nouns
    • general :
    • specfic : the
  • Countable singular nouns
    • genearl : a/an
    • speific : the
  • Countable plural nouns

1.2. academic word list

1.3. 连接词(Linking words)

  • 什么时候连接词：
    • 当你前后两个句子描述主体未发生变化时可以不用（此时往往以This ...开头）
    • 当描述主体发生变化时再用

1.3.1. 分号（semicolon）

  • 可以代替连接词
  • 当连接关系很明显时，用于省略连接词

1.4. 对冲(Hedge)

  • Verbs (including verb + that clauses for reporting):
    • appear, tend to, assume, believe, indicate, suggest
  • Adverbs:
    • arguably, possibly, probably, sometimes, often, almost, generally, perhaps, usually, commonly, largely, relatively
  • Adjectives:
    • possible, probable, (un)likely, (not) certain, (not) definite
  • Nouns:
    • possibility, probability, likelihood, tendency, trend, claim
  • Modal verbs:
    • can, could, will, would, may, might

谨慎很重要，但不要过度。许多学生作者过度使用套话，所以变得不清楚他们的想法。仔细分析你想说的内容。如果你确定，就这样说。否则，就使用对冲词

1.4.1. Hedging vs Boosting

hedges表达的主要是“不确定性、谦逊、或者是对于同事观点的尊敬等”，例如运用“may, might, maybe, could, perhaps, suggest”等弱化的词；而boosters相反展现的是作者对于自己观点和结论的信心，例如运用“must, is, definitely”等强势的词语。学术研究者需要非常精心地来控制他们文章观点的力度，并且很好的“position themselves appropriately in relation to other research and scholars”

1.5. 同义词（synonyms）

  • 目的：转述
    • 用自己的语言写，但仍然表达了原文的想法
    • 转述可以更短、更长或与原文一样长（区别于summarise）

1.6. 引述动词（Reporting verb）

  • 目的：带有立场（stance）地转述
Reporting verbMeaning
argueto say that something is true or correct and give reasons for this
mentionto refer briefly to something or somebody, in spoken or written text
concludeto decide that something is true using the facts you have as a basis
point outto draw someone’s attention to a fact or mistake
suggestto offer a plausible explanation for something
claimto say that something is true or correct while firm evidence for this may be lacking
showto give information about something which is clear and convincing to other people
maintainto hold certain views or opinions strongly even if other people disagree
stateto write or say something in a formal and certain way
identifyto discover or notice the existence of something
  • discover
  • create

1.7. 多样化（diversified）

  • 如果是topic/key words，不应该采用diversified
    • 在学术写作中，我们经常重复关键的专业术语——重复有助于保持文本的连贯性
  • 其他的非术语可以换方式转述

2. 句子

2.1. 主旨句(topic sentence)

  • 传达该段的中心主题 (convey the central theme of the paragraph)
  • 倾向于相对较短并充满内容的词语 (tend to be relatively short and full of content words)

2.1.1. 构成

它有两个部分：一个主题和一个控制思想（_相当于限定范围_）。主题给出了该段的主题，而控制性观点给出了该段的重点。它之所以被称为控制性观点，是因为它将话题控制或限制在一个特定的观点上。

  • It has two parts: a topic and a controlling idea. The topic gives the subject of the paragraph, and the controlling idea gives the focus for the paragraph. It is called the controlling idea because it controls or limits the topic to a specific idea.
  • 主题通常是一个名词短语(The topic is usually a noun phrase)
    • 一个段落中只应包括一个main idea

2.2. 句子作用/结构

  • 分为描述型、分析型以及评估型
  • 细分来看
    • identify problems / solutions
    • show cause / effect
    • compare / contrast ideas
    • define information
    • give examples
    • explain reasons
    • present evidence
    • question / refute / rebut ideas
    • support / corroborate ideas
    • show their position.

2.3. Adjective clauses (Relative clauses)

形容词从句加不加逗号：

  • Some nations still subsidise the use of fuels which contribute to climate change.
  • Some nations still subsidise the use of fuels, which contribute to climate change.
  • 加了逗号（comma），后面的句子重要性就降低了，类似by the way balabala
  • 没加逗号，类似限定范围（controlling idea）

2.4. 风格

2.4.1. 作者主导(Author-prominent) vs 信息主导(information-prominent)

  • author-prominent
    • The source author’s name is the subject of the reporting sentence.
    • The focus is on the author. When this style is used, the writer is often drawing comparisons between source authors.
  • information-prominent
    • The source author’s name does not appear in the sentence itself, only in the in-text citation bracket.
    • The focus of the sentence is on the information provided in the source.

2.4.2. Focus不同

类型：

  • Focus is on previous researcher’s activity. Researcher is subject (active)/agent (passive).
  • Focus is on area of enquiry/research/what has been done/said. Researchers mentioned in brackets.
  • Focus is on what is known/current state of knowledge.

分别对应的时态：

  • 一般过去时
  • 现在完成时
  • 一般过去时

3. 文章

以下大体是对journal article而言

3.1. phrasebank

3.2. 大纲（outline）

  • What problem am I writing about?
  • What do we know about the problem?
  • What is not known about the problem (what is the research gap?)?
  • What solutions can I find?

3.3. 结点/组织

3.3.1. 引言（Introduction）

4个部分（顺序先后）

  • General statement（大环境引入）
    • To introduce the reader to the subject（主题） of the essay
  • Definition(s)（定义）
    • To explain any important terms to the reader
  • Position(观点和主张)
    • To present the writer’s position on the topic
    • Justification（理由） = providing supporting evidence

      refers to the findings of the research – Is it useful to the field? Does it support or contradict existing research?

    • Thesis statement (观点)
    • Writer’s purpose（主张，aim to...）

      to persuade the reader that what they have written is valuable, or to add information to the topic. The purpose could also be to argue for or against the essay question

    • 主张和理由通常是重合的（overlap）
  • Preview/scope/overview of essay（全文展望）
    • To explain to the reader what aspects of the topic will be included in the essay
  • 10% of the total word count

Slightly less complex introductions may simply inform the reader:

  • what the topic is
  • why it is important
  • how the writing is organised

3.3.2. 结语（conclusion）

  • Summary（做总结）
    • 重述观点（Reference to thesis statement）
    • 重述内容（方法、对象…）
  • Recommendation(s)（提建议）
    • To tell the reader what the writer believes is the best action to take considering the evidence in the essay
  • Future prospects（展望未来）
  • Limitations（不足）
    • 如果不足过多or字数超了，可以单独成一个section
  • 注意：
    • 不能有引用
    • 不能有新信息
  • 5% of the total word count

4. 引用

Referencing guide at the University of Manchester: Harvard Manchester

4.1. 可信来源

  • Is there an author?
  • Is there a date?
  • Is there evidence?
  • Where is it from?
  • Is it sourced?
  • Is there a reference list? And in-text referencing?
  • Are there glossy pictures or advertising? (NO!)
  • Is it written in an academic formal style? (YES!)

4.2. 引用方式

  • 直接引号（direct quote）
    • 单引号,如果引用里还要引号,那那个引号就是双引号
    • (Surname,year:page)
    • (Gov,year)
  • 转述（paraphrase）
    • 不用引号
    • (Surname,year)
  • 总结(Summarise)

4.2.1. 介绍原始文本（Introducing the source text）

  • The article was published in the journal “Nature” in 2018.
  • This article appeared in “the Times” in March of this/last year.
  • The paper is entitled …
  • It was written by…

4.2.2. 内容/背景概述（Overview of content/background）

  • The author/article/text
    • discusses the three main causes of…
    • describes a case in which
    • examines the reasons for
    • criticises the implications of
    • gives an account of
    • argues that

4.2.3. 文本内容的顺序（Sequence of content of the text）

  • The author/article/text
    • begins by and then goes on to
    • starts by then explores/discusses
    • concludes by
    • leaves me with the idea that

4.2.4. 支持性证据（Supporting evidence）

  • The author/article text
    • refers to a number of studies which…
    • draws our attention to…
    • bases his/her argument on…
    • uses evidence from studies to…
    • Some (very) interesting data is given.
    • Some very significant statistics are referred to

4.2.5. 焦点（Criticality – significance/reader’s evaluation）

  • What the article highlights is …
  • The main point of this article is …
  • The report demonstrates that …
  • This is a very interesting article which highlights/ shows that …
  • There are a number of weaknesses/problems with the writer’s argument.
  • In my opinion the writer has not considered all of the evidence.
  • There is no mention of….

4.3. 二次引用（secondary reference）

  • （Author Surname（second name）, cited in Surname Year）

4.4. 二手来源（secondary sources）

Primary Source为所研究的主题提供第一手证据,比如日记、信件、特定时期的报纸、照片、地图、歌曲、采访笔记等。而Secondary Source描述、整理和分析第一手资源,比如textbook期刊文章,书评等

4.5. 参考文献（reference） vs 书目（bibliography）

  • A reference list only includes the work you have directly referred to in your writing.
  • A bibliography includes background sources that have influenced your writing and learning. These may or may not be referred to in your writing.

5. 其余要点

  • 用一个词能解释的比用长的解释更好
    • 不应当用（动词）词组，可以用word reference提供的Synonyms（同义词）来替换
  • 独立句 vs 从属句
    • 用独立句不够学术

5.1. academic vs non-academic style

a

  • abbreviation（缩写）

n

  • Unfamiliar words（生僻词）
  • Emotive language
  • Over-long, over-complex sentence
  • Overuse of figurative language（过分使用比喻性语句）

6. 评判标准

assessmentbadgood
任务完成情况(Task fulfilment )立场可能不明确，有些内容与问题无关，观点可能缺乏发展。立场很明确，所有的内容都是相关的，而且观点非常完善
连贯性和段落安排段落只导语部分展开，缺乏短文学术导语的必要元素各部分充分展开并包含必要元素
连接没用连接词正确使用连接词
论证的强度(Strength of Argument)所提出的论点只是部分地得到了发展，且缺少来源的支持在整个过程中以令人信服的方式发展论点，并从提供的资料中获得适当的支持
语域(Register)语域不正确语域使用正确
语法表现出对语法和标点符号的充分控制。 有一些明显的不准确之处，会分散读者的注意力和/或影响理解力。语言结构大多简单。没有尝试复杂的语言结构。表现出对语法和标点符号的控制能力。只存在非常小的表面不准确。有各种各样的结构，包括复杂的结构，有证据表明作者在扩展自己。
词汇词汇量可能有限，而且可能出现重复。词性空白仍有出现对广泛的词汇库有很好的控制和掌握，并显示出对成语和内涵意义的认识。
引用方式引用资料的部分内容缺失或有缺陷存在各种引文模式，并明智而正确地使用
转述的质量很少或不适当的转述适当使用转述的方法